Sri Lanka: Expenditure on tertiary education (% of government expenditure on education)

Key figures

Over five years it is down 0.38 percentage points from 21.12% in 2013. Since 1973 it is up 13.12 percentage points from 7.62% in 1973. The World Bank has no value for 18 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2018, Sri Lanka's expenditure on tertiary education (% of government expenditure on education) rose 7.78 percentage points on 2017 (from 12.96% to 20.74%).

Across the 22 yearly changes before that (1980 to 2017), the average change was −0.34 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.66 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 3.0 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 7.78 percentage points in 2018 and the biggest yearly fall was 7.26 percentage points in 2016. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2009 to 2018 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 3% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2018, Sri Lanka had the 9th highest value of the 23 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Sri Lanka in the 2018 ranking

• Costa Rica — 6th of 23: 23.14%
• Jordan — 7th of 23: 22.75%
• Malaysia — 8th of 23: 21.35%
• Rwanda — 10th of 23: 19.82%
• Jamaica — 11th of 23: 19.6%
• Guinea — 12th of 23: 17.3%

What this measures

Expenditure on tertiary education is expressed as a percentage of total general government expenditure on education. General government usually refers to local, regional and central governments.

Limitations: Data disaggregated by level of education are estimates in some instances. It is often difficult to separate lower from upper secondary education expenditure, or pre-primary from primary.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a median.

All 28 values

Expenditure on tertiary education (% of government expenditure on education) in nearby economies

• Bangladesh — 33.28% (2016)
• Nepal — 10.8% (2015)

More education data for Sri Lanka

• Primary school starting age (years) — 5 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 5 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 10 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 8 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 1.58 million (2023)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 91.45% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 92.09% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 90.84% (2023)
• School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 1 (2020)
• Secondary education, general pupils

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Sri Lanka's expenditure on tertiary education (% of government expenditure on education)?

20.74% in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1973?

It is up 13.12 percentage points from 7.62% in 1973. The highest value was 21.12% in 2013 and the lowest 7.62% in 1973.

How does Sri Lanka rank?

9th highest of 23 economies with data for 2018.

Is the latest change in expenditure on tertiary education (% of government expenditure on education) unusual for Sri Lanka?

In 2018, Sri Lanka's expenditure on tertiary education (% of government expenditure on education) rose 7.78 percentage points on 2017 (from 12.96% to 20.74%). Across the 22 yearly changes before that (1980 to 2017), the average change was −0.34 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.66 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 3.0 standard deviations above that average, so it was unusually large compared with the rest of the record.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.XPD.TERT.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://uis.unesco.org/bdds, publisher: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.